The industrial field of this disclosure relates to apparatus for the compressing or compacting of loose materials into a more compact size with higher density. Generally, a compactor is a machine or mechanism used to reduce the size of waste material or soil through a pressing process. A trash compactor is often used by homes and businesses to reduce the volume of trash. In landfill sites for example, a large bulldozer with spiked wheels called a landfill compactor is used to drive over waste thereby pressing it down. Waste collection vehicles may incorporate a compacting mechanism which is used to increase the amount of waste the vehicle can accommodate, and to thereby reduce the number of times it has to be emptied. This usually takes the form of hydraulically powered sliding plates which sweep out a collection hopper and compress the material into what has already been loaded. Compactors are used in scrap metal processing, the most familiar being the car crusher. Such devices can either be of the “pancake” type, where a scrap automobile is flattened by a descending hydraulically powered plate. The other type is the baling press, where the automobile is compressed from several directions until it resembles a large cube.
Many retail and service businesses, such as fast food, restaurants, and hotels, use compactors to reduce the volume of non-recyclable waste as well as to eliminate curb nuisances such as rodents and odors. These compactors typically use electric or hydraulic operation, and have various loading configurations including, “ground-access,” “walk-on,” and “secured indoor chute.” These compactors are almost exclusively of welded steel construction for: durability under pressure and exposure to the elements. There are also trash compactors, hydraulic or manual, designed for residential use to reduce the volume of garbage. For example, some compactors reduce the volume of polystyrene by thirty times. There are solar-powered trash compactors that can hold the equivalent of 200 gallons of trash before they need to be emptied. In the construction industry, there are three main types of compactors: the “plate,” the “jumping jack,” and the “road roller.” The latter type is used for compacting crushed rock for road beds, foundations, and slabs. The plate compactor, also known as a vibratory rammer, has a vibrating baseplate suitable for creating a level grade, while the jumping jack compactor has a smaller footprint and is used mainly to compact backfill in narrow trenches. The presently disclosed compactor using a different means for compressing material and a unique method.
Like reference symbols in the drawing figures indicate like elements.